Ice cream disher



Patented Nov. 5, 1935 ICE CREAM DISHER Harold P. Gray, Leominster,Mass., assignmto T. N. Benedict Manufacturing Company, East Syracuse, N.Y., a corporation of New York Application February 6, 1934, Serial No.709,983

1 Claim.

This invention relates to dishers used for dishing from a bulkcontainer, semi-solid substances, as ice cream, and has for its object atool, as a spoon, by which a measured quantity of the substance can bedished out in the form of a plug or cone and readily deposited in a dishor in a cone container, the spoon being such shape that after the coneor plug is cut by the spoon, the cone will remain in the spoon while thespoon is being 1o withdrawn out of the body of the substance or icecream and preferably without the use of anything other than theformation of the spoon to hold the cone in the spoon and will alsoreadily release from the spoon, preferably without releasing means.

It further has for its object a spoon of this type having a transversecurved or concave spoon blade wherein the handle is so locatedrelatively to the blade or offset from the central line of the bladethat the spoon can be readily manipulated or turned to cut a plug orcone and also can be used as a spade to cut the cone by successiveinsertions and withdrawals in different arcs of the circumference of thecone or plug to be out.

g5 It further has for its object a spoon with such an oifset handle withits larger rear end open and curved from one edge adjacent the shank ofthe handle downwardly when the tool is held in horizontal position andwith the point located near the horizontal plane of the shank with thewalls of the spoon tapering from the rear end toward the point.

Other objects will appear throughout the specication.

The invention consists in the details and correlation of detailshereinafter described and claimed.

In describing this invention, reference is had to the accompanyingdrawing in which like characters designate corresponding parts in allthe views.

Figure 1 is a plan view, partly broken away, of one embodiment of thisspoon.

Figurez 2` is a sectional view on line 2 2, Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary side elevation of the spoon, the handle beingbroken away.

Figures 4 and 5 are views similar to Figures 1 and 3 of a slightlymodied form of the invention, the handle being removed.

Figure 6 is a sectional View on line 6 6, Figure 4.

Figure '7 is a view similar to Figure l with the handle removed showingthe handle shank as extending at an inclined angle to the lengthwisemedian line of the blade instead of parallel thereto as in Figure 1.

This disher for ice cream and substances having similar characteristicscomprises a spoon or a spoon blade and handle having a shank por- 5.

tion adjacent the spoon extending parallel to the median line of thespoon and offset at one side thereof, the spoon being pointed at itsadvance and having its rear end open, and the spoon tapering from itsrear open end toward 10 the point, the latter being located near or inthe horizontal plane of the portion of the shank joining the spoon whenthe spoon is held in horizontal position. Preferably, the shank portionjoins the spoon at one lateral edge thereof and extends 15 tangentthereto.

i designates the spoon or the blade thereof connected to the shank 2 onwhich a handle 3 is mounted in -any suitable manner. The shank 2 or atleast the portion thereof adjacent the spoon or 20 blade I extendsparallel to the central lengthwise median line or plane of the spoon andis oifset at one side of said line and is preferably tangent to one sideof the spoon, as at d.

In Figure 7, the handle shank Z or the portion 25 thereof adjoining theblade or spoon 2| is shown as off-set but instead oi.' extendingparallel to the lengthwise median line oi the blade or spoon extends atan inclined angle thereto.

The spoon l, as seen in Figure 2, is arcuate in 30 the central portionof the arc being in the deep- 351" est part of the spoon so that theside edges of the spoon, that is, the edges adjoining the handle and theopposite edge are in approximately the same plane. In Figure 2, thespoon is shown as inverted. Also, the spoon is open at its rear end at40 5 and tapers toward the advance end terminating in a rounding point6, which, as clearly seen in Figures 2 and 3, is approximately in thehorizontal plane of the shank 2 when the article is held in horizontalposition. The Wall of the spoon tapers 45 toward the point or the spoonbecomes shallower from its deeper rear end toward the point. Hence, theside edges 'l and 8 of the spoon taper toward the point and also thebottom wall of the spoon tapers as shown at 9 in Figure 3 with por- 50tions of the curve above the middle of the spoon more nearly upright orinclined less out of the vertical than the portion approaching thepoint.

The inner surface IU of the shank forms a continuation of the innersurface of the spoon I and 55 a portion of the surface of the spoon l atIl is also formed on the shank where the shank joins, or in effect runsalongside, the blade of the spoon. The intermediate part of the spoonblade is comparatively thick and the spoon is gradually bevelled offtoward its edges 'l and 8, so that the iront and rear edges arecomparatively sharp and the sharpened edge lies in the surface of theinner face of the spoon. Also, the rear edge I2 of the spoon is curvedas shown in Figure 1 slightly downwardly from the shank toward the edgeof the spoon remote from the shank, and curves at i3, in an easy curveinto the edge B.

In the form shown in Figures 4 and 5, the spoon blade is less taperingthan is shown in Figures 1 and 2 and is more in the form of a spade withthe rear portions of its side edges formed as a straight edge at l 4 andl5 so as to scrape close to the wall of the container and remove the icecream from said wall when the spoon is used as a scraper. However, inorder to provide a straight edge on the iorm of spoon shown in Figures land 3, the edge remote from the shank 2 may be formed as indicated indotted line at I6 to provide a straight scraping edge Il.

In operation, the spoon may be thrust vertically or nearly verticallyinto the body of ice cream in the container to the full depth of theblade and then the spoon rotated about its point by twisting `force onthe handle and the result is readily accomplished, due to the offsethandle and its relation to the point and also to the shape of the blade,the arrangement of its surface and edges, particularly of the open rearend below the horizontal plane of the shank 2 or portion thereofadjoining the blade. After the spoon has been rotated so as to cut aconical plug, it is pulled out and at the same time a little pryingaction applied thereto so that the cone Will remain in the spoon, fromwhence it can be deposited in a conical holder; or the spoon may bethrust vertically or nearly vertically into the body of the ice creamand withdrawn and then shifted into a diametrically opposite positionand thrust into the body of the cream and either with or without aslight turning movement lifted out, bringing the cone therewith. Owingto the open rear end, the operator can readily see the cone he iscutting and guide the tool. Also, the open rear end facilitates theremoval of the cone from the spoon. l In the form shown in Figures 4 and5, the blade It@ is shaped to cut a plug that is less conical and morenearly cylindrical than that cut by the spoon shown in Figures 1 and 3.

In the form shown in Figures 4 vand 5, the portion of the inner surfaceof the spoon on the handle side of the blade or spoon is of a dilerentincline or curvature than the inner surface approaching the advance edgel! of the spoon, when the same is being turned after being nserted inthe body of ice cream.

As shown in Figure 6, the inner face of the spoon is formed ilat or inthe chord of an arc at H32 toward the side thereof adjacent the handleshank, although instead of being flat, it may be curved but of adifferent or less curvature than the portion of the surface approachingthe ad- Vance cutting edge of the spoon, when it is being 10 turned. Thepurpose of this attened surface is to cause the cone or plug, when cut,to not lit exactly in the spoon, so that it will clear easily out of thespoon.

Also, the spoons are formed with an inner surface which is roughcompared with the outer surface. This is for the purpose of causing thecone or plug to adhere somewhat in the spoon, when the spoon is beingremoved and handled preparatory to discharging the cone or plug into theholder, as a cone. This difference in surface, making one comparativelyrough, is merely a matter of diferent plating or of bufng or polishingbefore plating, the outer surface being as smooth as possible tofacilitate the cutting out of the cone or plug. p

With this spoon, an approximate measured amount of ice cream can bedished in the form of a plug or cone without packing or compressing theice cream, as in ice cream dishers which include bowls, into which thecream is scooped. Also, owing to the offset handle the spoon can bemanipulated to better advantage and guided more accurately with lesseffort and skill than a spoon or spade with the shank attached to theblade at the center thereof or between the side edges.

What I claim is:

An ice cream disher comprising a spoon and a handle having a shankportion adjacent the spoon and extending substantially tangent to oneside margin of the spoon, whereby the spoon is located entirely at oneside of the shank, the spoon being pointed at its advance end andarranged with its lengthwise dimension extending in a general directionlengthwise of the shank and the side edges of the spoon tapering fromthe rear end of the spoon toward the point, the spoon being arcuate incross section and in lengthwise section with its rear end open andextending :from the end of its arcuate formation adjacent the shankbelow the horizontal plane of the shank and the general horizontal planeof the side edges of the spoon, when the disher is held in horizontalposition, the point of the spoon being located near said horizontalplane and the Wall of the spoon tapering from its open rear end towardthe point.

HAROLD P. GRAY.

